U.S.-Mexico border fence on hold

Supporters of the U.S.-Mexico border fence called on DHS secretary Michael Chertoff to override a ruling by a federal judge ordering the delay of construction of a section of the fence in Arizona. Last week’s ruling was issued last Thursday by U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle in Washington, D.C. r infrastructure. Judge Huvelle ordered a temporary halt on construction of a border fence along a 1.5 mile stretch between Mexico and Arizona, on grounds the federal government had not thoroughly performed an environmental impact study. The Washington Times’s Jerry Seper writes that the Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club had asked for a ten-day delay, claiming the Bureau of Land Management and other agencies had failed to conduct a thorough study of the fence’s effects on the environment. Judge Huvelle granted the request, saying the government had not adequately explained why it hastily performed an impact study and quickly began building the fence. “The reasons for urgency have not been sufficiently explained,” she said, adding that studies done before the construction of border fences in Texas and California took longer and were done more thoroughly.

The government has acknowledged that the land where the Arizona fence is to be built is a wildlife conservation area, but that it is overrun by illegal aliens, which is causing major environmental damage. It said the foot traffic alone, along with tons of trash left behind by illegal crossers, was worsening the environment and that the proposed fence would actually enhance the environment and wildlife preservation by inhibiting illegal traffic.